New book gives women the career edge they need to succeed
“Helping Women Succeed in Business” is a refreshingly personal and honest book about what it takes for a woman to be successful in the workplace. Author Nina Baldwin has a fact, say it like a voice speaking from the heart about the mistakes women make that hold them back and how they can climb the corporate ladder instead of being overlooked. Nina herself has been in the restaurant business since she was a teenager, eventually holding just about every position possible, from waitress to director of operations at various restaurants and franchises. It’s no exaggeration to say that she basically “she’s seen it all” in the restaurant industry and her experience and examples translate easily to any other business and level, from large corporations to entrepreneurship.
The book is divided into two sections. In the first, Nina offers some two dozen lessons she’s learned that will help propel women to success. She balances her advice to extend to women in each and every position and stage of their careers. From giving women advice on applying for jobs and interviewing, including why women shouldn’t interview the same way they date, to talking about how to conduct yourself professionally in the workplace, how to get noticed, and finally, how to treat your employees, advise them. and help them succeed, Nina covers it all in concise chapters with plenty of personal examples and stories to back up her points.
In my opinion, some of the most important topics Nina covers are topics that are often overlooked, including the value of networking, the importance of mentoring and helping other women, the need to know your weaknesses and ask help instead of trying to pretend. and how to find the balance between creating a career and finding time for yourself.
The second section of the book consists of seventeen interviews, all with successful women, with one exception. Patrick Snow, an entrepreneur and best-selling author, offers sixteen strategies for generating income for his business. These strategies alone are worth the price of the book. Successful women interviewed include an ice cream parlor owner, a woman who runs a non-profit organization that helps women, several high-level executives in various industries, from restaurants and beverages to home and resort management, and even women who have worked with Nina and received help. for her to be successful. These interviews offer great advice and make the reader feel that success is possible no matter who she is or when her career begins.
In the past, I have read about women’s organizations that help support women and where women support each other. Nina’s book is based on this model and brings together in a single volume seventeen stories from different women, including her own. “Helping Women Succeed in Business” is Nina’s brainchild, but also a true sisterly effort to help other women enjoy meaningful careers. Nina’s desire to write this book to help other women speaks to her truly generous and professional nature and why she has been so successful herself. She never criticizes men, but she is fair to both genders and everyone she comes across while not failing to point out when people, men and women, make mistakes that cost them their careers or opportunity to advance so that readers don’t make the same mistakes.
I think any woman will benefit from this book. As a former manager of a predominantly female call center, I know Nina’s advice and examples are spot on. I think this book would make a great gift for any young woman graduating from high school or college or starting her first job. It’s a book employers should give their female employees, especially in companies like the restaurant industry, where young adults are hired for entry-level positions. Men will also benefit from reading it. As a male manager, I’m sure it would have helped me better understand the women who worked for me, as well as the women I worked with and under. “Helping Women Succeed in Business” is a book that breaks down gender barriers and misunderstandings in the workplace. It is honest, concise and practical. It will get young women thinking about their long-term careers from the start of their first day on the job, and make their lives and careers richer and happier as a result.
